THE Deputy Government DelegateAna Lopez, discusses in this interview the different important projects that the The central executive facing the province. The interview begins with the vast infrastructure package of its competitors.
-With the future A-81, which must remove the N-432 (Badajoz-Granada), we are going there, if you like, in sections. In Badajoz-Espiel, we have had no news for 34 months. Is there a time horizon for the environmental impact statement (DIA), necessary for its processing to progress?
-We are waiting for you. A DIA is a slow business. We will ask the Ministry of Transport to give us a clear timetable to be able to load this infrastructure as quickly as possible in our province. In the coming weeks, I will have a meeting with the ministry and this is one of the issues that I want to clarify.
-In the Badajoz-Espiel section, neither the Provincial Council, even when it was led by the PSOE, nor the municipalities appreciate the proposed solution: a new road and, depending on its use, it could be transformed later, without delay, into a two-lane road. Is there any chance that this will change?
-That decision has already been made. And I’m getting ahead of myself. In the Espiel-Córdoba section, the decision has also been made: it will follow the same route as the current N-432. This will be done because of the environmental and economic costs that a new road would have in an area of the Sierra as important as this one.
-The Espiel-Córdoba, according to a parliamentary response from the Government, will be a new conventional highway; not the highway.
-Now, no final decision is on the table.
-In other words, can we still hope that the Espiel-Córdoba section will be built initially as a motorway?
-It’s possible. It’s not entirely defined.
-And the last section, Cordoba-Granada. Will it ever come out of its lethargy?
-I insist, there will be a bet on this road. In this section you mentioned, we were talking about a highway.
-So, do you already want a timetable for the future A-81 that crosses Cordoba?
-Yes, yes. I hope that by the end of this year we will be able to have an execution schedule for these three sections.
-There was an agreement in July between the Ministry of Transport and the Council to develop the project for the second section of the western bypass. Are we finally facing its unlocking?
-I am convinced. When Minister Oscar Puente came to the capital on July 1st [inauguración de la ampliación de la terminal]was sensitive to what I told him: the need that Cordoba had to finish it.
-What are the deadlines for the preparation of the project for awarding the contract for the second phase of the Western Variant, the first stage for its construction?
-I hope it can be released in early 2025.
-The first section of the western bypass was inaugurated in 2011. The Commission, with the PP in the presidency, requested the second phase, important for the logistical potential of Córdoba. Does it seem logical to you that the Government waited so long to activate it?
-It is a road that was not part of the State’s General Interest Network. Despite this, Oscar Puente and his department decided that it would be done in the interest of Córdoba.
– Don’t you think the decision is coming late?
-Well, I don’t know if he’s late. The important thing is that he arrives.
“There are low-cost companies that have shown interest in Cordoba airport. A short-term landing by an airline is feasible.
-What will happen to the future stop of Avenida de la Igualdad? The development of the basic project must be put out to tender again, at the same time as an informative study must be prepared. The existing contract is liquidated by mutual agreement with the winning company.
-We have to rewrite it, because it is already obsolete. The last thing I discussed with the Ministry is that it will be done as soon as possible.
Electrical energy
-In June 2022, the Government committed to promoting the information study on this judgment. The management was at least improvable.
-Well, everything can be improved. But it can be done.
-The mayor, José María Bellido, wants to propose to the government, since he does not consider the stop at the Exhibition Center as a priority, that, with an agreement, the Consistory pays for this stop and in exchange there is a commitment that Renfe will stop trains there on days when there are congresses or conventions. Will Transports accept this offer?
-I know the proposal of the press. The study of the request indicates that this decision does not make sense. However, when I saw what it suggested, I forwarded it to the Ministry. They told me that if there was such a formal proposal, there would be no problem in holding a meeting and studying this proposal.
-The Commission has proposed this year that the medium-distance route of the Guadalquivir Valley be extended to more stops. In addition to what the government already plans – the adaptation projects for the Montoro and Almodóvar stations are currently being developed – it is requesting its extension to Villafranca, Pedro Abad and El Carpio. Is this feasible?
-We are with the two you mentioned. Regarding the others, they will be studied over time. We will also have to see the demand. And see if it is possible. At no time has the ministry closed the door to this possibility.
-This summer, the airport recovered regular flights, with Air Nostrum. What are the chances that this company will operate again or that others will be created?
-Several airlines have shown interest in the airport, according to what its director informs me. The government and AENA have made a significant commitment to this airport. Passenger taxes have been eliminated for companies for three years. Regarding the rates they pay to use the airport, they are among the lowest in Spain. In addition, we are working on customs, so that they can be established at the aerodrome as soon as possible.
-How does the Air Nostrum experience leave you?
-Very positive, although they will be the ones to see if their numbers work. There are other low-cost companies that have shown interest. The short-term landing of another company is feasible. The airport may have an important future.
“We hope that during this last quarter, the urban development work on the land of the former prison can be put out to tender.”
-Let’s go to the floors of the old prison. The competition to develop them had to be cancelled in February. When will it be activated again? Vimcorsa (municipal housing company) is considering building there.
-Unfortunately, only one company came forward and the contract was never formalized. Now the specifications are being modified because the price that was established when the previous call for tenders was launched must be modified with the increase in materials and all the work budgets. This is the end. We hope that the call for tenders can be launched during this last quarter.
-How is the work of the new national commission going?
-Perfectly. By the end of next year, for the last quarter, they will be completed. Then we will have to deal with issues such as furniture. So, I don’t know if it will be there by the end of 2025. Otherwise, in 2026, with all certainty, we will be able to have these magnificent facilities.
-Why is the government opposed to making the Sierra Boyera-Puente Nuevo connection, which appears in the 2023-2027 Hydrological Plan and would be the safety net to prevent situations like the one experienced from happening again in the North, where there was a year without being able to drink from the tap?
-In the North, there is a problem of water quality; not the quantity….
“In the north, there is a problem of water quality; not quantity. It would not make much sense to carry out a new Sierra Boyera-Puente Nuevo transfer.
-…Subdelegate, we have just seen how the Sierra Boyera has dried up. And the spring rains have accelerated the return of water to the homes in the North.
-This is a quality issue, which is the responsibility of the Board of Directors. [en alusión al estado del agua de La Colada, que está conectada provisionalmente con Sierra Boyera y la Junta empezará a ejecutar en breve el enlace definitivo]not the quantity. It wouldn’t make much sense to do a new transfer. And it wouldn’t happen in a year. We’re talking about more than 40 kilometers through an area of high environmental and landscape value. It would take seven or eight years to do that.
-Speaking of the North, one of the long-standing demands of its municipalities is greater electrical power to be able to attract and retain businesses. Can this be resolved?
-The 2025-2030 planning is the one with which the work will begin. The Council proposes a line of 400 [kilovatios]. I understand that you will have justified it sufficiently. If his proposal is sufficiently justified according to the technical reports that Red Eléctrica Española must now prepare, it will be the one made by the government. But we are dependent on what the technical reports say.
Logistics base
-In cultural matters, the Government has in its portfolio the expansion of the Archaeological Museum. They received the basic project for the renovation of the Jerónimo Páez Palace at the end of 2023. Will the rehabilitation of this space begin in 2025?
-I don’t know if it will be able to be there by the end of 2025. If not, we will see it in 2026. The execution project is already in place, so there should be no problem. This rehabilitation must be put out to competition. And, fortunately or unfortunately, Contract Law is very guarantor and the deadlines are very long,
-What will happen to the future new Fine Arts after so many years of waiting?
-I have no more information about what is going to happen. We are three Administrations that must agree.
-Where there is cooperation between the Administrations is in the Logistics Base. How are your urban development works going, which must be completed in March 2025, and then start the construction of your buildings?
-At a good pace and as expected. We are talking about a project that can completely and absolutely change Córdoba, capital and province. Here, all the Administrations are involved. We work together and without any problem.
